There are many miniature portable electronic devices available today adapted to be worn on the body and providing a variety of features and functions to the wearer. Examples of such devices include watches, calculators, miniature broadcast receivers, and even miniaturized personal body function monitoring devices. These miniature portable electronic devices are available in a variety of forms, such as wrist worn devices, as watches, and devices which are clipped or hung on the body, as pendants or broaches. Many of these devices include receiver functions requiring an antenna to be incorporated in the design of the device, thereby providing a miniature portable communications device. Various methods of incorporating the antenna into these prior art miniature portable communications devices have been proposed. The antenna has variously been located in the wristband of the device, externally connected to the case of the device, or included within the case of the device. In each instance, tuning of the prior art device antennas has been achieved by tuning elements located in the case of the device which can only be accessed by opening the case of the device.
In addition to having to enter the case for access to modify the antenna tuning elements, prior art devices also require access into the case to access the test or metering point providing the indication that the antenna is being tuned. Without access to the metering point, tuning of the antenna and subsequently the receiver itself, is impossible.
Most antennas, including those provided in prior art devices are generally detuned, when they are brought into close proximity to the body. Thus, prior art tuning methods which are internally performed and require access into the device case, do not optimize the "on the body" antenna sensitivity. Optimum antenna performance can only be achieved when the device is tuned in situ, on the person who is to wear the device.
However, even when the antennas of such devices are tuned on the body, many factors will affect whether the antenna will remain tuned. If the attachment device is a wristband, the antenna tuning can be affected by how tightly or how loosely the band is tightened on the wrist. Should the band loosen, the tuning will change. Devices with wristbands are often removed, such as at night. Again, significant changes in the antenna tuning would occur. If the antenna is configured in a necklace the same problems with tuning, and maintaining the tuning when the device is worn, as opposed to when the device is removed occurs. These and other problems associated with the prior art designs are overcome by the use of the invention described in detail herein.